Blomster’s Mongolian Adventure

WHAT: World Premiere of Postcards To Mongolia by Thomas A. Blomster, conducting the performance by the Morin Khuur Ensemble as part of “Beautiful Mongolia”, Naadam Festival.

Colorado composer and conductor Thomas A. Blomster is the first Western composer and conductor to work with the Morin Khuur Ensemble, the traditional Mongolian instrument ensemble that is part of the Mongolian Philharmonic Orchestra. His composition Postcards To Mongolia will be performed as part of the Naadam Festival, Mongolia’s largest and most important annual festival. The Naadam festival is the Mongolian version of the Olympics, with sporting events of wrestling, archery, and horse racing that are traditions of Mongolia’s historic culture. In addition to the athletic events, there are numerous musical and artistic events during the three day festival.

The story about Mongolia and me: I inherited from my father a curiosity about the world. So sometimes late at night, I cruise the internet, to see if there are orchestras in “far flung” places around the world. Thus I friended the Mongolian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) on Facebook. Shortly thereafter, Erdene-Oyun Burgedee of the MPO friended me. Last fall, Erdene visited Denver, and we became good friends as I helped her navigate Denver and its arts scene. Erdene (her nick name is Oko) shared a DVD and booklet on the Morin Khuur Ensemble (MKE), the traditional Mongolian orchestra that is part of the MPO. I was most intrigued and wrote a composition titled Postcards To Mongolia for the MKE. Oko submitted Postcards to the director of the MKE, and my composition is being premiered, with me conducting, during the Naadam Festival in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia’s capitol and largest city, on July 11, 2017. We are hoping to stream the performance live. My wife Nikki and I will be in Ulaanbaatar for almost two weeks and I will be working and collaborating with Mongolian musicians, including jazz musicians and percussionists.

This is a bucket list or once in a lifetime trip for Nikki and me. I’ve wanted to visit Mongolia for a long time, but that’s a more involved story.